Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal gestures as he announces a new policy document in Doha, Qatar, May 1, 2017. Gunmen from Hamas took scores of hostages after rampaging through southern Israeli communities and military bases, killing over 1,300 people. In 2011, Israel swapped hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to win the release of one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was held for five years. Israel, which has bombarded Gaza with strikes that have killed hundreds of Palestinians, has said it would act to free the hostages while eliminating Hamas. Another senior Hamas official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said on Monday that "foreign prisoners cannot be released due to the continued Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip."

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Persons: Khaled Meshaal, Naseem Zeitoon, AlAraby, Gilad Shalit, Abu Obeida, Moussa Abu Marzouk, Rami Ayyub, Moaz Abd, Alaziz, Hatem Maher, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Doha, Qatar, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Thailand, Germany